YMCA Running

Ramblings....

It's a beautiful day in Washington D.C. today (Sunday 10/28) and why the heck should anyone care? Well, it's the Marine Corp Marathon and there are a bunch of runners from Birmingham up there participating in the marathon, a large number of whom are 'couch' graduates...I'm so proud *sniff*. Seriously, I really am.

These runners decided together to train together and go run this marathon and they are the perfect blend of today's running 'boom' i.e. 'The new golf!' Many of them want to run fast and have time goals, some just want to finish and get the medal, others actually did this for the training to get strong, leaner, and socialize. Socialize? Yep! when you're out there running for a couple of hours and sometimes you run together more than once a week with the same people friendships develop. And when that happens you begin to care, you look out for each other, you discuss your past week, your upcoming week, your future plans and your crazy ex-girlfriends (okay - I could do an Encyclopedia Britannica on that one). You spend time with people that you share common themes with - life, living healthy, goal oriented, and pushing yourself to greater heights. When we were in the Sinai Desert one of our spiritual leaders was talking about the difficulty in hiking through such terrain and in the heat and he firmly believed that, "without suffering one can't grow." And though a 20 mile training run is rewarding, it's seldom described as fun, but you can and do 'grow' through it and you share that experience with your running mates. Congratulations Marathoners!

The Vulcan Run 10K is this coming weekend and there are about 65 +/- runners from the Couch to 10K program that are participating and from a beginning group of 100 that's pretty darn good. Here's some pre-race advice outside of the usual 'stuff' (for them and you)...the usual stuff is put your clothes out the night before, pin your number to your shirt, set 2 alarms on race morning....here's what I encourage, 3 things: 1) Nothing new on race day, if you haven't eaten it or worn it before or during a previous run don't start on race day no matter how 'cute' it is. Eat sensibly the night before and a bite of something race morning -  a beef and bean burrito is NOT a good idea. Gastro-intestinal distress is bad enough, but at mile 3 in front of 2000 of your closest friends? No thanks! And you don't want to wear some thing new that you didn't suspect might rub/chafe you in places you didn't expect. Two to 4 miles to run with something rubbing you raw is not a great way to enjoy a race; nothing new on race day. 2) START SLOW!!! "Danny, I had a terrible race, I took off fast cause I felt so good!" Of course you felt good you igmo, you're trained to run SIX + miles and you were at mile 1!!! Whatever you blow out early energy wise you can never get back, but what you save you'll have to spend at the end (Save the juice so you'll have something to squeeze at the end)- and it's important to finish, but it's more important to finish feeling good. Just ease back into the crowd, lower your frustration level and let the crowd keep you under wraps for the first mile, then ease into your normal pace. Start slow and you'll finish strong - every single time! Lastly and most important #3 have FUN! This is not life or death, this is about YOU reaching your goal - As you run thank the volunteers, thank the cops - Highland Avenue (miles 3-4) is gorgeous this time of year, notice the trees and their colors, if you do that the time (and miles) pass before you notice it. Like the song in the Producers (fun musical and the movie is terrific too); Keep it happy, Keep it snappy, keep it gay! Okay - don't read anything into that, just have fun with it. Have fun with your run, it is a celebration of YOUR life and proof on an 'every day that you run' basis that you really can do anything you set your mind to do!

As Sir Edmund Hillary said, "It is not the mountain that we conquer, but ourselves."  Think about it and have fun out there! Keep it mad, keep it glad, keep it........

Cold hard facts

Well it's going to cool off some more this week which means we'll have our normal cool down, warm back up days and our nights will be chilly and our days still comfortable but it does wreak havoc on deciding what to wear. That's my favorite thing about summer time running...it's hot or hotter - shorts, sox, jock, let's go. In the winter: gloves or no gloves, short sleeves or long sleeves, do I need a vest, tights, head band, whats the wind chill? Sheesh! I know it sounds 'pat' but you have to remember that everybody is an experiment of one, meaning what works for Danny may not work for you and what works for Micki won't work for Alice or Alex. That withstanding, here's a few thoughts: I own some light weight short sleeve shirts and some a little heavier weight and I have the same in long sleeve as well. It takes me half way through the winter to know what to wear when, but I get it figured out. Vests are great especially when there's 'wind chill' - if you get warm, you zip it down, when you get cold, zip it up, kind of like a thermostat. I have light weight gloves for cold days, medium weight for colder days and oven mitts for coldest days. They are awesome! I got them at Old Navy for about 10 bucks. I can't bend my hands, but they don't get cold either. Funny, I seldom need a head band for my ears, yet my wife breaks hers out when it's under 50 degrees (experiment of 1). Tights are tricky - I mean mine are warm (plus I'm hot natured) and I have both tights (like tight tights) and 'track' style tights which are a little baggier/looser. Both are comfortable and I wear them interchangeably; my last thoughts are what anyone thinks, my first are, "am I going to freeze or is this enough - or will I burn up?" Women - sadly you already have a distorted 'body' image of yourself so it's tough to preach "don't care what anyone thinks," but to call a spade a spade here we go - according to the women I know that I'm close to, that I run with, that will 'say anything' - First off be sure any tights you buy have a cotton panel, if you don't know why I'm not gonna be the guy to break it to you. Secondly - go commando. Why in the heck are you going to wear underwear under tights that you'll be sweating into (cotton panel remember?). I know, "but my rear looks big" (see above referenced distorted image) - listen as someone who LOOKS (I'm married, I'm not dead) nothing says BIG bo-hunkus like VPL (visible pantie lines) through a pair of tights - hey try it, twice - you might like the freedom or the way it feels; NEVER wear white tights (anyone!), trust me on that one. Of course no cotton - find some 'tech' fabrics on sale. Even though it's 35 degrees you will still sweat and the cotton just absorbs so you'll freeze with any wind or as soon as you stop. Always dress as if it were 10 degrees warmer, remember you heat up as you run. Of course longer runs require less clothing than short easy ones, my feet never get cold, my hands do (experiment of one). Turtle necks and mock turtles are great on cold windy days -again tech fabrics. General guidelines (experiments of 1): 50's short sleeves, hi 40's light gloves and light long sleeve, lower 40's heavier top and gloves, upper 30's same as lower 40's some may consider tights - lower 30's tights and maybe a vest, 20's Salvation Army time, everything you got! My cut off is 20 degrees temperature or wind chill - I roll over, look at the Weather Channel (what did we do without it) and if it's 20 or below - back to sleep! Just remember, Experiment of 1 (you'll figure it out),layer, comfort is paramount, and what anybody thinks matters not at all (unless you wear white tights cause you've been warned).

It's a brand (re) new day!

This morning sitting in church watching my newest granddaughter get Baptized reminded me of the day we were near Capernaum situated near the Sea Of Galilee and the beginnings of the River Jordan  - there our Priests conducted a Baptism Renewal Service where were baptized with the water from the River Jordan and renewed our vows. It got me to thinking about how we need to every so often renew our 'vows' to ourselves. What have we vowed, well since this blog is about running, let's go with getting/staying in shape. Valerie McLean, the owner of the Trak Shak said the other day that running is the 'new golf' - dang, I wish I had thought of that (maybe I could steal it), meaning that it's become a social and physical outlet. Well, as physical as golf could be. You can make the argument that golf is a sport, but you have a hard time convincing me that golfers are athlete's; anyway people are worried less nowadays about PR's (personal bests AKA personal records) than they are about covering the distance, getting their heart rate up and having fun while running. And yes, it is an enormous amount of fun if you go about it the correct way! Again, starting gradually and building on your day by day run by run successes and by that I mean walking, then running a little and so forth (shameless plug for the Couch to 10K program  - next edition starting 12/29 can culminating during the Mercedes Weekend). but the point is we often, Oh! SO OFTEN! Promise ourselves, "today's the day, I'm going to get in shape, I'm going to do this by running and a week later...hmm, still chubby.

Anyone can do it, they can start with a walk and do that for about 2 weeks - then jog until you can't say, "how now brown cow" without gasping, then walk again, catch your breath and jog again - repeat 5 times. Then go home and CELEBRATE YOUR ACHIEVEMENT (not with food though). We are in a society that encourages us to put ourselves DOWN, well to go back to the 70's: UP WITH PEOPLE! Celebrate your progress and if anyone belittles just say, "I did something, and I liked it!" Bingo! Don't let others help you break your vow. There's a whole new you, or a time to re-new you. My renewal vows in the Jordan River have meant a lot to me.I'm older, more mature and more cognizant of the things I NEED to do. Not because of those vows, but because I remember them. I try to live them daily - I try to run daily.

Is there a (re) new you? I bet there is - take a look, a little inventory, then take a chance on yourself, take a run.....

The little shephard....

In our travels in the Sinai Desert we often came across Bedouin tribes and of course their (small) herds of goats and sheep. The shepherd was always a surprise; we saw young men (early 20's) and older men and in one interesting case the shepherd was a small girl of about 11. We watched with interest as she 'steered' the herd with her voice and bu throwing rocks. She wouldn't throw at them, she would throw in the direction she wanted them to go and then she'd yell and they'd respond. To watch it, it almost seemed choreographed. I imagine it took some time for them to develop that rapport, much as it takes some time for one's body to train and develop as you learn to run.

The shepherd had patience with her herd as I hope you'll have patience with yourself and I write this knowing that many people are wondering if they can train for and run the Mercedes Half Marathon. Yes, you can...well, most of you. Not the marathon mind you, but the half. There's some 16 or so weeks and with a smart training program it is a realistic goal. My hope is that you'll train smart, patiently, and slowly so that you'll enjoy the experience and make running a life time hobby. You don't have to be fast, there are millions of lazy butts sitting at home wishing they felt better, weighed less, could walk to the mailbox with out a water break and truthfully they vast majority CAN, but they WON'T.

So if this is a desire for you, find a good training program or a good coach and go for it. If you think you can and 'doubt' sets in ask yourself, "Why not?" That's what doubt does, it 'suggests' to your inner self, "psst, you can't do this, "...."Why not?" I have lost of visuals and reminders to motivate me and my newest one is the shepherd girl - but let me give you one last thought.

In the Sinai we hiked and climbed and climbed and hiked daily. One particular climb was long and hot (remember I'm in the desert, this ain't your Momma's 'hot') and as we crested the mountain I could see in the distance the oasis where we were to make camp, it was beautiful. We weren't there, but I could see it! I saw the basic trail we would take and my spirits immediately rose knowing I would make it and when I got there I knew it would be beautiful! Running is like that, it's not always easy but at some point in any run you know you'll finish and the great part is that you will always feel better after a run than before, ALWAYS! Maybe because it's done, but mostly because YOU DID IT. Your body is the herd, leas it , train it and the finish line is your oasis, every time. Look for it and when you see 'the oasis' near the end of the run, let it call you home and then bask in your accomplishment. EVERY run is an accomplishment and every victory is to be celebrated.

Lots of thoughts here, I hope one helps you select a goal and motivates you to GO FOR IT!